Thinkpiece of the Moment
Mind stretching dialog, the hypothetical correspondence of Osama and Gandhi
in a piece called Why terror?, by Bhikhu Parekh. (Looks like that link might become subscription only after a while.) I think one thing we're lousy at is putting ourselves in the philosophical shoes of Islamic fundamentalist terrorists. Yes, they're inarguably evil, but when you begin with some of the same starting assumptions they do (mostly religion based, which is why some people point to religious faith itself being a problem) it's a rational and almost justifiable evil, not just being bad for bad's sake. And many in this country will not acknowledge that. Some of that refusal is justified; almost any behavior that seems to reward terrorism is suspect. But we're so fond of the stick that we tend to forget about the carrot, act as if you can't address some of the problems the terrorists draw their energy from while simultaneously showing little mercy in the pursuit of the people planning to strike.

Comic of the Moment

Awesome...Action Comics #1, the first appearance of Superman...worth checking out.

You know, I always kind of assumed this cover was of Superman making a dramatic rescue, but, duh, no...he's shaking that car out like the bad guys were salt. That first issue covers a lot of ground: capital punishment, lobbyists working to get us involved in war...(and the other stories include a cowboy who knows jujitsu!)

Online Note of the Moment
Is it just me or has Google undergone a bit of a facelift? It's probably fairly subtle, but it's odd how jarring the change is for me.